


Peanut.

by GameandWolf



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-13
Updated: 2012-03-28
Packaged: 2017-11-01 21:30:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 12,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/361473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GameandWolf/pseuds/GameandWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sebastian is expecting and doesn't know how Jim will react.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sebastian sits on the roof of an eight story building with his rifle propped next to him. He’s got another two hours before his mark will be in the correct office, so he’s got plenty of time to kill. He pulls up the bottom of his dark jumper and stares at his stomach. It’s still flat, doesn’t look any different than it did a month ago before he knew and as it did two weeks ago when he found out.  
  
It kind of freaks him out a little bit. He’s growing a little person. He’s got a freaking human factory in his abdomen. Not to mention that the tiny little thing is one half trigger happy sniper and one half criminally insane…well, criminal.  
  
He hasn’t told Jim yet, either. He isn’t sure how to go about doing that. And they don’t make cards that say ‘congratulations! You accidentally knocked up your personal sniper!”, or at least, if they do, Sebastian hasn’t been able to find them.  
  
And there’s no telling how Jim will react, he’s a crazy little fucker and Sebastian’s pretty sure he’s in love with his boss despite that, but Jim also doesn’t like weaknesses, doesn’t have a problem with killing children, and is the kind of person who watches those videos of cats falling off of shelves just because he thinks it’s funny to see the beast hurt itself.  
  
There’s also the matter of Sebastian not knowing exactly what his relationship with Jim is. Sebastian is without a doubt, entirely Jim’s, body, heart, and soul. Even if they weren’t sleeping together, there isn’t anything that Sebastian wouldn’t do for him. But he doesn’t know which way Jim’s feelings are going. Sebastian doesn’t think he’s sleeping with anyone else, but he’s a crafty one, and Jim could cover up anything or anyone he might be doing.  
  
Sebastian prods at his stomach with one finger. “You’re making this relationship suddenly much more complicated, you little peanut.”  
  
He checks the time and finds that he’s been lost in through for longer than he’d planned and it’s just about time to strike. He makes quick work of the job, bullet right through the back of the man’s head and out the center of his forehead; there’s a reason he’s Jim’s go-to man for the important hits. He’s packing away his rifle when his mobile buzzes in his pocket.  
  
 _Accidentally cuffed myself to the bed. –JM_  
  
Sebastian’s wondering how he manages to do that on accident when it goes off again.  
  
 _So come take advantage of me –JM_  
  
And then it doesn’t matter anymore. He won’t tell Jim about the peanut tonight, not when it could result in him missing out on having Jim tied down. He’ll tell him eventually. Probably. Theoretically.


	2. Chapter 2

It happens sooner than Sebastian plans. It’s not even two weeks later when Sebastian is lunging out of bed first thing in the morning and running for the bathroom to throw up everything he’s eaten in the past twenty four hours for the third day in a row. Jim’s got himself all worked up though and is insisting on taking him to their headquarters and having his personal physician give him a look. Sebastian resists as much as possible, partially because he’s already been to the doctor and knows what is body is doing, and partially just because the tiny little white haired doctor freaks him out. He half suspects that if the doctor threw back his head and laughed that thunder and lightning would appear from nowhere just to suit the mood. It’s no wonder why Jim hired him.  
  
Jim eventually does win and Sebastian hopes to himself that maybe he’ll be able to subtly signal to the doctor not to say anything to Jim. He’s sure the doctor is intelligent enough to pick up on it.  
  
-  
  
Either the doctor is an idiot or he just hates Sebastian. He walks into the room, glances at Sebastian, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, and announces “Morning sickness is a common symptom of pregnancy. It’s not unusual.” And promptly walks back out. Dick.   
  
Jim stares at the door in confusion. Then at Sebastian. Then at the door   
again. Back to Sebastian.   
  
“Going to get whiplash if you keep doing that.”  
  
Jim opens and closes his mouth several times. “Did he just…are you..”  
  
Sebastian bites down on his lower lip and raises his eyebrows as if to say ‘Ta-da!’   
  
Jim is staring at him, face completely blank and seemingly at a loss for words for the first time in his life. Sebastian starts to worry as the seconds tick by and Jim still hasn’t said anything. He’s afraid Jim has gone catatonic because he’s mentally planning the easiest way to kill Sebastian and dispose of the body without too much fuss. Or worse, he’s planning on how to break things off with Sebastian and not bothering putting the effort into killing him.   
  
He’s about to say something when he finds himself with a lapful of criminal mastermind and a mouthful of said criminal mastermind’s tongue. Jim’s hands are tugging Sebastian’s shirt out of his trousers and pressing against his stomach, trying to feel for a non-existent bump.   
  
“ _Jim_ ,” Sebastian groans into his mouth, and it’s enough to get Jim to calm down enough to pull back, grinning against Sebastian’s lips.  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks  
  
Sebastian opens his mouth to reply but all he manages is a shrug and a shake of his head. He thinks Jim will push for an answer but instead Jim is _literally_ pushing him so that he’s flat on his back on the horrendously uncomfortable hospital bed and Jim is pushing his shirt up, face painted with undisguised giddiness.

  
“A baby, Sebastian. We made a _baby_.” he looks unduly pleased with himself.   
  
“So, it’s a good thing then, yea?”  
  
The look of utterly adorable confusion on Jim’s face makes the fear of asking that question completely worth it. The look that says Jim has no idea how or in what way this baby could possibly be a bad thing. “Of course it is. A baby that’s half you and half me?” Jim adjusts himself so that he’s laying between Sebastian’s legs and presses a kiss against his stomach. “It will be perfect. A right terror, but he’ll get that from us.”   
  
Sebastian threads his fingers through Jim’s hair and can’t help but think that even though he’s not doing anything overtly sexual, the way that Jim is stroking and kissing his stomach may be the most erotic thing he’s ever seen. “He? It could be a girl, you know.”   
  
Jim wrinkles his nose and lays his head down on Sebastian’s stomach. “Nah. It’ll be a boy. I’ll teach him advanced calculus and you can teach him how to shoot a gun. We’ll start early. I’ll make up flashcards.”  
  
Biting back a laugh, because he knows Jim is probably being serious, Sebastian counters, “We could do those things with a girl too. And you are not starting as soon as it’s born. It has to learn to read before it learns calculus.”  
  
“Pft, reading. Reading is boring. Who wants to read?”  
  
“You remember that I’ve written two books, don’t you?”  
  
“Written, but how many have you actually read?”   
  
“…”  
  
“Anyway, I can’t just keep calling him _it_. You need a name don’t you?” Jim’s last question is aimed directly at Sebastian’s stomach and it takes him a moment to process that, but once he does he can’t stop grinning at the thought of it.  
  
“I’ve been calling it Peanut.”  
  
“…. _really_ , Sebastian?”  
  
He shrugs. “Kinda what it looks like right now and it’s non gender specific. I like it. It’s cute.”  
  
“Cute? Cut- you are so _normal_ sometimes, Sebastian.”  
  
“Thank you.”  
  
“Didn’t mean it as a compliment.”  
  
“Yea, you did.”  
  
“Yea, okay I did. But still.” Jim sighs. “Fine. Peanut it is.” He taps a finger just below Sebastian’s navel. “I’ll make sure you get a decent name when you’re actually here. _Peanut_. Really.”


	3. Chapter 3

Things go well for the first few days. Nothing else in their daily life has really changed except that Jim finds excuses to touch Sebastian’s stomach with increasing frequency and he keeps directing comments in Sebastian’s directions that are obviously meant for ‘Peanut’. Jim still isn’t fond of the name and insists that it is degrading to his son.  
  
“Could be a cute nickname for your daughter.”  
  
Jim just snorts and insists it’s a boy. Sebastian ignores him and thinks about how, if it’s a girl, he can threaten any boyfriends she brings home and actually mean it. Nothing says ‘take care of my little girl’ like ‘one of her fathers is a criminal mastermind and the other is a top assassin’. Of course, he can’t actually tell the boy that, what with the whole secrecy thing and all. But _he_ knows he’ll be able to make good on any threat.   
  
Thing start to go wrong, however, when Sebastian is packing his disassembled rifle into a inconspicuous case and Jim strides into the room with a look of confusion on his face.  
  
“What are you doing?”  
  
“About to go take care of the Peterson hit. It’s supposed to be taken care of today.”  
  
“I already sent Johnson to take care of it.”  
  
The piece he’s holding nearly falls out of his hands when he spins around. “The fuck did you send him for? He’s good, but he’s not _me_ , Jim. This is a high priority case, why aren’t I doing it?” Maybe he’s a little bit vain about his skill with a gun.  
  
Jim puffs up and looks indignant. “Because you’re not going anywhere! What if you get caught? You could be putting my son in danger!”  
  
Sebastian splutters out several incoherent noises before he’s able to respond. “So you’re not going to let me go _anywhere_? I’ve never been caught before and I’ve been doing this for years, why would I start now? And Peanut is a girl!”   
  
“You are not going anywhere dangerous!”   
  
“Like hell I’m not!”   
  
Jim steps right up into Sebastian’s personal space and Sebastian briefly wonders if Jim is going to hit him. What is does is so much worse and usually so much more effective in making Sebastian break. He holds his ground.  
  
“Stop making that face, Jim. I’m not back down on this.”  
  
Jim’s eyes go impossibly wider and his lower lip wibbles. “I’m just worried,” he slides on hand under Sebastian’s shirt and presses his palm to his stomach, “about both of you.”  
  
“I’m not falling for that.”  
  
“I’m being serious, Sebastian!”  
  
“I’m not even showing yet. And it’s not like I will be in any actual danger. I’m going to the twelfth story of a building and shooting a man across the street. I’m not walking up to him and wrestling him to the ground, for fuck’s sake.”   
  
Jim sets his jaw, face switching from the over-the-top puppy dog eyes to hard and determined. “Fine. Don’t listen to reason. I have other ways of keeping you both safe.” Jim twists on his feel and marches out of the room.  
  
 _Shit._ Sebastian thinks and then calls after him, “What the fuck does that mean?”  
  
From down the hall, he can hear Jim respond in that annoying sing-song voice. “You forget I’m still your boss!”  
  
God dammit.


	4. Chapter 4

  
Sebastian doesn’t see Jim for the rest of the day and when he goes back to their flat and crawls into bed, there’s still no sign of the man. He wakes up around 3 a.m. when he feels the bed dip beside him. Jim slides down the bed and rests his head on Sebastian’s hip. He lays one hand over Sebastian’s stomach and starting speaking softly. Sebastian can’t make anything out very clearly but it sounds like he’s telling Peanut about his day. Sebastian keeps his eyes closed and forces himself not to start smiling as he drifts back to sleep.  
  
\--  
  
The next day, when Sebastian goes back down to their headquarters, he’s got his schedule already mentally planned out for the day: meeting with his team to plan who’s taking care of what for the week, meet with one of the engineers to go over the design for the new gun they’ve been working on, lunch, ignore Jim’s rule about not going out, drive out to make a hit, come back and clean his gun. Have dinner, and then spend the rest of the evening nailing Jim to the mattress.  
  
Things go wrong almost immediately.   
  
Red lights flash angrily at him when he punches his code into the access panel to unlock his planning room. He rolls his eyes in annoyance; he can’t stand these damn locks, and punches his code in a second time. More red lights. Fucking door.  
  
“Colonel Moran, sir?”  
  
Sebastian turns to see who’s addressing him. It’s a smallish man, shorter than even Jim and whipcord thin. He’s fairly new to the team, but he’s a damn good shot and getting better. Higgins, Sebastian thinks his name is.   
No. Hibbler. No.  
  
“Heston.” He decides on. The boy looks far too pleased by the colonel knowing his name.  
  
“Is there a problem, sir? We weren’t expecting you in today.”  
  
The fuck? “The fuck, why not?”  
  
“Mr. Moriarty said you were on sick leave, sir, and not to expect you back for a while.”  
  
That bastard. “Well he told you wrong. I’m fine, now let me into the room.”  
  
“Sorry, sir. He said you might turn up and say that. He specifically told us not to give you access to any area that your code won’t.”  
  
 _Mother fucker_. “Let me in anyway, boy. Now. That’s an order.”  
  
The boy visibly pales. “Sorry, sir. But I’m more frightened of Mr. Moriarty than I am of you. Sir.” He has the decency to at least look embarrassed when he says this.   
  
Sebastian snarls and punches the wall, inwardly pleased at the flinch from Heston, and storms off down the hall.   
  
A quick check shows that is he is blocked from the armory as well. He makes his way up to Jim’s office, but doesn’t find him. He checks every room of the headquarters but the little fucker isn’t anywhere to be found. The only thing Sebastian comes across is a lurid pink post-it note stuck to his computer reading  
  
 _It’s what’s best for you and our son  
<3 –J_  
  
And then scribbled hastily underneath  
  
 _sorry_  
  
He’s pretty sure that’s the first time Jim has ever apologized for anything, but it doesn’t make him any less pissed off. He shreds the pink slip and tosses it in the trash. He glares down at his stomach. “This is all your fault, I hope you know.” Sebastian sighs and grabs his coat. There’s no use in staying here if he’s locked out of everything; he might as well head home and spend the day watching crap telly. He swings by Jim’s office long enough to leave a blue post-it note on his computer replying   
  
_Your daughter and I are not happy.  
You can sleep alone tonight._

  
Several hours later, Sebastian’s wrapped up in a blanket on the sofa, not sulking at all except for the part where that’s exactly what he’s doing. He hears the sound of Jim unlocking the front door and he abandons the couch, heading straight for his bedroom. He hasn’t actually slept in here for several months now and it’s childish to hide in his room but he doesn’t want to talk to Jim right now. He locks the door and burrows under the blankets of his bed and goes to sleep.  
  
When he wakes up the next morning, the lock on his door is broken and Jim is wrapped around him like an octopus, their legs completely twisted together and both of Jim’s hands slid up under Sebastian’s shirt, touching his stomach once again.   
  
Sebastian tries his best to stay angry at Jim, but it’s difficult when he’s so warm and Jim is so soft and snuggled up against him. All he wants to do is go back to sleep. He can be angry at Jim later. He’s got a plan involving the handguns stashed in the flat and Jim’s mobile.


	5. Chapter 5

The next time that Sebastian wakes up, Jim is gone again but there’s disturbingly detailed drawing on his stomach, done in marker, of a baby skeleton with a tiny speech bubble saying  
  
 _Papa, I’m a boy!_  
  
It’s a little morbid, but so is Jim, which makes it fitting. He grabs his mobile from the beside table and sends off a message.  
  
 _Papa?_ -S  
  
He gets a reply less than a minute later.  
  
 _Well we can’t both be Dad –J_  
  
Sebastian smiles at his phone without really meaning to and his stomach twists with excitement just from thinking about the fact that he’s going to be a dad. _With Jim._ His good mood only gets to last a few minutes because when he starts to get ready for work, he remembers that he’s not actually allowed to work. He digs one of his hand guns out of the back of the wardrobe and sets about planning his revenge.  
  
\--  
  
By the end of the day, Jim’s mobile has three bullet holes in it, one of his labs has been set on fire, one of his precious Westwood suits has been horribly vandalized and, perhaps worst of all, his itunes library has been deleted.   
  
Jim sits on Sebastian’s desk cross legged and glares at him while Sebastian spins himself slowly around in the office chair, pointedly not looking at him.   
  
“I’ve had people brutally murdered for less than that, you know.”  
  
“Of course I know, I carried out most of those. But other people aren’t carrying your daughter.”  
  
“Son.”  
  
“Nope. And I’m going to keep destroying your things until you let me work again. I’m not going to spend the next seven months staying at home and watching the telly all day.”  
  
“You could watch Glee”  
  
“I’m going to set those on fire when I get home. Whether or not you let me work again, those things need to be destroyed.”   
  
“Do it and I’ll scratch up your copy of Enemy at the Gates. And the copy that you’ve got stashed behind the refrigerator for when I inevitably damage the first one.”   
  
“Seems that we’ve reached an impasse then.”   
  
They spend several hours debating what is and isn’t “safe” for Sebastian to be doing and eventually, one smashed computer, a broken office chair and a blowjob later, agree that Sebastian won’t go out on hits anymore, but he’ll remain in charge of arranging them and assigning which of his men will go out. While they talk, Sebastian idly pulls a face and rubs one hand over his stomach which Jim immediately notices.  
  
“Are you alright?”   
  
“Hmm? Yea, I’m fine. Just nauseous. That’s pretty normal now.”  
  
“You’re sure? The doctor should still be here, I can take you to see him.”  
  
“Jim, seriously. It’s fine, Peanut just makes my stomach act up.”  
  
Jim slides off the desk and kneels in front of Sebastian. (For the second time that hour). He pushes Sebastian’s shirt up and presses his lips against a spot just below his navel. “Hey, little bit. Cut that out. I need your Papa in working order.”   
  
Sebastian chuckles and touches Jim’s cheek lightly with his fingertips. “So why papa?”  
  
The smaller man shrugs. “Neither of us seems like a ‘father’ and I didn’t want to be ‘da’. It seemed to fit you though.”   
  
He tugs Jim up and into his lap, kissing the tip of his nose lightly. “You’re going to be a good dad. Crazy as shit, but still a good dad.” Jim responds with a small grin and leans down to bump his nose against Sebastian’s. “Now take me home. Your daughter is wearing me out.”  
  
“Sure, go ahead and blame our son when you’re being lazy. We can go home and watch Glee!”  
  
“ _Fuck no._ ”


	6. Chapter 6

Things go relatively smoothly for the next couple of weeks except for the occasional spat, mostly fueled by Jim’s continuously growing over protectiveness and Sebastian’s deliberate refusal to give in to most of Jim’s demands.   
  
Some of them are solved with violence, more broken chairs and computers and things set on fire, others with angry silence until the other caved, on the rare occasional some are solved with rational calm discussion, and still others are solved purely by accident, which Sebastian blames on the havoc that his hormones are wreaking on him.   
  
Sebastian storms into the lab that Jim is working in and barks at the others to get out. There’s only three researchers in the lab with him and they all glance nervously at each other, not sure if they should obey.   
  
When he snarls “OUT. NOW.” They immediately drop their things and high-tail it out of the room, leaving a slightly amused looking Jim sitting at one of his microscopes.   
  
“Problem?”  
  
Glaring angrily, Sebastian stomps right up into Jim’s personal space. “You locked me out of the armory and the gun range. _Again_.”   
  
Jim gives a little sniff and goes back to his experiment. “One of your reasons last time was that you weren’t even showing.” He glances at Sebastian’s stomach and the corner of his mouth turns up in a small grin. “You’re definitely showing now.”  
  
Sebastian huffs and crosses his arms over his stomach. He’s only about halfway through his fourth month and the bump is barely noticeable except to himself, Jim, and the few others who know about it.   
  
“The size of my stomach has nothing to do with whether I can practice shooting or not. I’m going to be shit if I go months without picking up a gun.” No he won’t. He’s too good for that, but he’ll miss it. “Give me access to it again.”   
  
Jim glances from side to side and cracks his neck, a thoughtful look on his face. After several minutes, he shakes his head. “No, I don’t think so.”   
  
Logic dictates that Sebastian’s best course of action would be to seek revenge in either the form of knocking over one of Jim’s delicate experiments here in the lab or going home and installing no less than seven different kinds of locks on his bedroom door to keep Jim out at night. But logic isn’t in control of Sebastian and his hormones win out; clearly his revenge should be fucking Jim into the floor.  
  
He may be pregnant, but Sebastian still has size and skill over Jim and it doesn’t take him long to wrestle him off the stool and have him on the floor, flat on his back and being kissed breathless. Technically, sex isn’t revenge for anything, but Sebastian feels smug enough knowing that Jim absolutely _hates_ sex in public places. He doesn’t like the idea that someone could see him naked, exposed, vulnerable, or worst of all, _distracted_. They had actually been sleeping together for months before Jim would let Sebastian leave the lights on.  
  
It doesn’t take him long to get Jim naked and writhing on the floor and, despite his protests that anyone could walk in, begging to be touched. By the time they’re finishing, Sebastian can’t actually remember what his original point was, too distracted by the warmth of Jim’s skin in contrast with the cold air of the lab, the taste of Jim’s sweat slicked skin under his tongue, and the sound of Jim panting needy sounds and hesitant endearments into his ear.   
  
It isn’t until they’re lying wrapped together under a commandeered lab coat that Sebastian remembers, and only then it’s when Jim mumbles against his skin. “You make a convincing argument. I’ll let you back in.”   
  
Sebastian chuckles and kisses Jim’s temple only for the smaller man to slither down and rest his head on it’s now usual spot on his stomach.  
  
“Your papa is a very bad man, little bit. He is very good at making people do things that they don’t want to.” He glances up at Sebastian and grins, a little affectionate, but mostly his usual insane, manic grin. “That’s why I like him.”


	7. Chapter 7

As his fourth month draws to a close, Sebastian gets used to spending more time wanting to stay sitting down and on some days, just not get up at all. This pleases Jim greatly. Sebastian has won most, though not all, of their arguments about the restrictions on what he can do, so Jim gleefully encourages him to stay at home as often as possible.  
  
It’s one of those days when Sebastian is wrapped up in an old blanket on the sofa with his head pillow on Jim’s lap when it happens. Jim is texting away like mad on his phone, probably ordering someone’s death. Or dinner. Or someone’s death if they don’t bring him dinner. Sebastian isn’t even really sure what Jim does on his phone and he’s quite content with that.   
  
But Jim is doing whatever it is he does when he notices Sebastian irritably rubbing at his stomach. The _tap tap tap_ of the screen stops and he drops one hand to card it through Sebastian’s dark hair.  
  
“Are you alright?”   
  
Sebastian rather hates how it still makes his pulse jump when Jim expresses concern for him. (Normal concern, not the bat-shit concern that results in a multitude of denied access codes.) “Just an upset stomach. Peanut being a bother again.”   
  
“Hm, sounds like he’ll be taking after his Papa then.” Jim smirks as he returns to his phone. Sebastian playfully smacks his thigh.  
  
“Intent on ruining my sleep and eating schedule? Sounds more like she’ll be more like you than anything else.” He paused and a horrified expression crosses his face. “Oh god, that’s a terrifying though.” He glances up to Jim, “Were you already insane when you were a child or did that wait until puberty set in?”   
  
“I redefined ‘the terrible twos’”  
  
“ _Dammit_.” he shifts on the sofa so that he can look up at Jim. “I hope you know that whenever she’s being a little monster, I’m putting you in char- _oh!_ ” He sits up suddenly, hand flying down to cover his stomach.   
  
Jim is up in an instant, kneeling on the floor with his hands on Sebastian’s knees. “What is it? What’s going on? Do I need to call the doctor?” He’s already got the number half punched into his mobile when Sebastian manages to shush him.  
  
“M’fine. Fine, I promise.” He looks at Jim and hates himself a little bit when he can’t stop the dopey smile from sliding across his face. “I felt her move.”   
  
There’s a look similar to panic across Jim’s face, but it’s only fleeting before he’s up on the sofa next to Sebastian and, as usual, pushing his shirt up to reveal his stomach. He curves his hands around the small bump and his face adopts a new expression, as if he’s concentrating very hard. He looks more focused than Sebastian usually sees him. This is the expression reserved for coming up with crimes just to screw with Holmes’s head.  
  
Jim’s forehead wrinkles and a frown mars his face. “I can’t feel him. Did he stop moving?” Sebastian shakes his head slightly, pushing back the urge to kiss the disappointed look off of Jim’s face.  
  
“She’s still moving a little bit. It’s really soft, like a sort of…fluttering in my stomach. You might not be able to feel it from the outside.”   
  
Jim’s frown deepens and his fingers trace patterns over the stretched skin of Sebastian’s stomach. “This isn’t fair. I want to feel you too, little bit.” He squirms down on the sofa and brushes a feather light kiss across Sebastian’s skin. “You’re almost halfway done now, aren’t you?” He smiles against Sebastian’s bump. “I can’t wait to meet you.” If Sebastian’s heart skips a beat at the thought of Jim actually displaying paternal habits, then he blames it entirely on the hormones.

  
“About two weeks more,” he says, “and we can finally prove that I’m right about Peanut being a girl.”   
  
“Until we can prove that our son needs a better nickname than Peanut, you mean.” Jim glares at Sebastian’s eyeroll. “I’m telling you, he’s a boy.”   
Jim sticks out his chin confidently. “Ten quid says it’s a boy.”  
  
Unable to fight back the snort of laughter, Sebastian replies, “We are not betting money on the sex of our child! Especially not ten quid!”  
  
“Fine, no money. Blow job says it’s a boy.”  
  
“There is something _terribly_ wrong with trading sexual favors over this.” Of course, they are terrible people. “Deal.”   
  
Jim moves back up and presses his lips against Sebastian’s. “Two weeks and I’ll be having your mouth, then.”   
  
“Whatever you say. We’ll see in two weeks.”  
  
Jim disappears a week later.


	8. Chapter 8

Sebastian doesn’t worry much when Jim doesn’t come home for two days straight. He’s too used to Jim swanning off at a moment’s notice to take care of whatever convoluted plan his twisted little brain is cooking up. He simply steps into Jim’s shoes and takes over handling their client list, sending people out either on jobs or on payment collections. He doesn’t take any of the high profile cases because he can’t spin those the way that Jim does; he sticks mostly to petty crimes.

He starts to worry on the fourth day, but convinces himself that it’s just his hormones messing with his emotions. It’s just Peanut giving him indigestion that makes his chest ache when he wakes up along and the other side of the bed is still cold.

He’s finally ready to admit that he’s starting o worry when Jim doesn’t show up for the seventh day in a row. It isn’t the length of time that he’s been gone, but the fact that it’s the day of Sebastian’s next appointment. The one that should tell them if Peanut is a boy or a girl. He hovers around their flat for as long as possible, silently hoping that Jim will turn up before it’s time to leave. He doesn’t.

At the doctor’s office down in headquarters, Sebastian wants nothing more than to punch the old coot in the face. He never thought he’d be bothered to see the mad scientist personality gone, but the pitying look that replaces it is so much worse. Everything checks out well, Peanut is healthy and developing properly and yes, the doctor can tell him whether it’s a boy or a girl.

He’s hesitant to find out because Jim should be here. The doctor takes pity on him and writes it down on an index card, folds it in half, and tapes it shut. He supposes that it’s supposed to be a favor but he still wants to punch him. The dick.

Sebastian stuffs the card into the pocket of his coat when he leaves and doesn’t look at it.  
-  
Days continue to tick by and there’s still no sign of Jim. His men are starting to talk; even they know it’s unusual for Jim to go without contact for so long. Rumors are starting to spread, some of them saying that Jim is dead or that’s he’s been captured, or the one that grates on his nerves the worse: that Jim has gotten bored and moved on to other things.

One of the snipers on his team, a red-headed woman with hard brown eyes, seems to enjoy taunting him, knowing that he can’t afford to just shoot her in the face, not when he’s off the playing field and needs his team in the best shape possible.

“Maybe he just decided he didn’t want anything to do with the little spawn of yours.” She says one day with a smile like ice. “Mr. Moriarty isn’t big on the morals is he? Don’t see why he couldn’t add ‘deadbeat dad’ to his c.v.”

Sebastian throws her a dark look and decides that he’s going to break her neck as soon as he’s in fighting condition again. “Don’t be a fucking idiot. If he didn’t want anything to do with P- the kid, then he’d just punch me in the stomach and be done with it. He’s not going to skip out on his entire empire over this.” He doesn’t add in the part where he knows, he just knows that Jim wouldn’t skip out entirely. He isn’t sure of Jim’s feelings towards him, but he knows, at the very least, that Jim loves his “little bit” and wouldn’t miss out on meeting it for the world.

He ups the surveillance teams around the city and goes back to monitoring CCTV cameras to try and find him.

Almost three weeks have passed since his last appointment and Sebastian is starting to give up hope that Jim is ever going to come back. He’s just over five months along and his bump is more noticeable than ever. He can’t go outside without people looking at him and he doesn’t like drawing attention but people seem to want to coo over his stomach when all he wants to do is to crawl into bed with Jim and not get out for the next four months.

When he hears the front door of the flat rattling around two a.m., Sebastian goes with his gut instinct and grabs the gun that he keeps tucked under the mattress. He creeps up the hallway as best he can while practically waddling and cocks his gun, ready for whichever of Jim’s enemies has figured out where he usually lives.

He presses himself back into the shadows and aims carefully as the door swings open.

“Jim!” Sebastian tucks his gun into the waistband of his pajamas and rushes forward.

Jim isn’t dressed in his normally impeccable fashion. He’s wearing a ratty pair of sweatpants and a stained t-shirt. His hair looks oily and unwashed and there’s several days worth of stubble built up on his chin.

The right side of his face is mottled with fading bruises and he looks like he’s going to fall over at any moment. He gives Sebastian a lazy, lopsided grin.

“Hey, Seb. Had a bit of a run in with the British government.”


	9. Chapter 9

Jim tries to take a step forward and his body refuses to cooperate. As soon as he isn’t leaning on the door frame, his whole body sags and he tips forward, threatening to fall. Sebastian lunges forward and wraps his arms around Jim’s torso, taking the majority of his weight as the man goes very nearly limp against him.  
  
“Shit, Jim. The fuck have you been up to?”  
  
Jim presses his face against Sebastian’s chest and lets out a disgruntled noise. “Fucking Holmes.”  
  
Anger roars up in Sebastian’s chest and his grip on Jim tightens as he snarls. “Sherlock did this?”  
  
Another groan and Jim nuzzles his face into Sebastian’s shirt. “Nuh. Mycroft. Grabbed me. ‘Terrogation.” He doesn’t give the other man a chance to respond before he continues. “Tired. And feel bad. Help me upstairs.”  
  
The fire in his chest dims to a dull flame and Sebastian presses his face into Jim’s hair. “Of course, let’s get you cleaned up.” Any other time, Sebastian would have picked Jim up and carried him bodily into the bathroom, but he can’t quite manage that anymore. Instead, he gently tugs Jim along the hall and leads him up to the bathroom.  
  
He sits Jim down on the toilet and gently strokes his fingers through Jim’s oily hair, feeling along carefully for any possible fractures. “Did you tell them anything?”  
  
Jim lets out a small, pleased noise and presses against Sebastian’s hands. “Key code. Made it up. Doesn’t mean shit.” He bursts into nearly hysterical giggles. “Turns out, they don’t speak binary.”  
  
Sebastian rolls his eyes and maneuvers himself down to his knees and turns Jim’s face so that they’re eye to eye. “Can’t tell if you’re delirious, hysterical, or brain damaged.”  
  
“Systems normal.” Jim grins and sways a bit. "All fucked up."  
  
“That helps, boss.” Sebastian deadpans and continues his examination of Jim’s skin. He’s beaten and bruised but nothing seems worthy of fretting over. The skin is only broken in a few places and those have already started to heal. He’ll need to apply antiseptic and bandage them, but it won’t be difficult. He brushes his fingers along Jim’s jaw and the smaller man whimpers quietly.  
  
“Hurts, Seb.” His injuries aren’t severe but Sebastian can only imagine that he feels like hell. He doesn’t know how Jim does it, but more than once he’s seen him shrug off injuries as if he didn’t feel them, only to be doubled over in pain later from the same injury. He wonders if it’s possible for Jim to shut down his ability to feel pain, only to have it all hit him in a rush at a later time. He wouldn’t put it past the crazy little fuck.  
  
“I know it does, darling. I’m going to give you a painkiller soon, yea? But it’s going to knock you out and we have other things to take care of first.” His fingers drop to the hem of Jim’s dirty t-shirt and start to tug it upwards.  
  
Jim doesn’t understand what’s going on and blinks blearily at Sebastian. “Sex?”  
  
Sebastian lets out a small huff of fond exasperation. “No, Jim. Not sex. You need a bath. You smell awful.” Jim frowns at him and twists his head, pressing his face into his own shoulder and taking a deep breath. He pulls a face and looks back at Sebastian, nodding in agreement.  
  
It takes a small struggle to get Jim into the bathtub. When he’s out of his head, he develops a fear of the bath, likely Sebastian suspects, from one too many interrogations that involve his head being held under. Once he’s actually in however, he lets out a quite moan and sinks down into the hot water, blissful and quiet. He stays quiet, malleable and pliant in Sebastian’s hands as his body is scrubbed clean. He only reacts when Sebastian lathers up his hair and works his fingers across Jim’s scalp, but even then it’s only to make small noises of satisfaction and arch up against his touch.  
  
Once Jim is cleaned and rinsed, Sebastian coaxes him back out of the tub and wraps him in a large towel, ignoring the angry glare he gets for taking Jim out of the warm water. He plants Jim down on the toilet and tries to make quick work of brushing his teeth and shaving off the accumulated facial hair. The second takes more time, in part because he has to keep Jim still while he works and partially because scraping the straight edge razor across Jim’s skin reminds him of their more adventurous pre-Peanut sex life. It’s very distracting.

  
When he’s cleaned Jim up to the best of his current ability, he talks the man up to the bedroom, bribing him with the promise of strong painkillers. Sebastian keeps up his promise and gives Jim a shot of some drug developed down in their HQ that should send him into a restful and relatively pain free sleep. Jim slithers in between the sheets and wraps himself up tightly, peeking out through a small gap in the blankets.  
  
“Stay with me?” Jim says it like a question and his voice hints that he might be afraid of the answer. Sebastian writes it off as proof that he may have given Jim too much of the drug but slips in next to him anyway.  
  
Jim presses his body close to Sebastian and doesn’t complain when Sebastian’s arms automatically wrap around him, holding him tightly.  
  
"Hey, Seb?" Jim's voice from beneath the blankets is nearly inaudible.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
He squirms a bit and moves impossibly closer to Sebastian, tucking his head under the man's chin. "Missed you."  
  
Sebastian smiles softly and presses a kiss to the top of Jim's head. "Missed you, too."


	10. Chapter 10

When morning comes, it takes Sebastian a while to realize that something is different today. He wakes up feeling like it’s a normal morning; Jim is fully wrapped around him, taking up most of the bed and the blankets, and mouthing lazily at his neck, mumbling sleepy endearments into his skin.  
  
It takes until Sebastian fingers are brushing over Jim’s ribs and he hears the man whimper that he snaps back to the memory of the night before. He gently nudges the Jim, trying to pull him back into the world of waking.  
  
Jim blinks slowly and gives Sebastian a lazy, sleepy grin. “Mornin’.” Sebastian puts a tight lid on the surge of feelings that rise in his chest from the single word. He is not going to become overcome by his hormones and melt into a puddle of feelings just because it’s the first time in a month that he’s woken up with Jim in his arms.  
  
He presses a kiss to Jim’s forehead lightly. “How’re you feeling?”

  
Jim closes his eyes and leans into the touch. “Okay. Tired. Sore.” Jim’s hands start to wander over Sebastian body and he thinks the smaller man is just in an amorous mood, but his hands curve around the shape of Sebastian’s stomach and stay there. “I’m sorry,” he says and doesn’t meet Sebastian’s eyes, “I wasn’t supposed to be gone.” He lifts his head and presses a hard kiss to Sebastian’s lips, and Sebastian can’t identify the feelings behind it. “How are you? Both of you?”  
  
Sebastian responds by leaning back in and kissing Jim again, much softer this time. “We're fine, perfectly fine. All the better for having you back, sir.”  
  
“I missed it, didn’t I?” Jim asks suddenly.  
  
“Missed what?” There’s no telling what Jim’s referring to, it could be something about Peanut, something case related or hell, an episode of Glee. Jim doesn’t respond and squirms down the length of Sebastian’s body until he’s on level with the bump. He presses his lips against the curve of Sebastian’s skin and lets his fingers trace idle patterns over it.  
  
“I’ve been thinking about you,” he says, more to Peanut than to Sebastian, “figuring out how to take care of you, make sure you’re okay. I need to keep you safe. I think I have an idea- oh!” Jim’s head snaps up and the look on his face is pure delight. “I felt it!”  
  
Sebastian smiles fondly and gives a short nod. “Been kicking up a storm lately. Only just started feeling it from the outside.”  
  
The look of wonder stays on Jim’s face as his attention goes back to the bump, pressing his palm over the spot where he felt the tiny kick. “Do you know that it’s me? Are you kicking because daddy is talking to you?” Once again, Sebastian denies to himself that the tightening in his chest has anything to do with Jim’s words. Jim cackles in delight when Peanut responds by kicking at his hand again. “He knows!” His forehead crinkles slightly as soon as he says this and a look crosses his face.  
  
“That’s what I meant a minute ago. I missed finding out.” He presses his nose against the bump. “Are you my son? Or are you my daughter, little bit?” The look he gives Sebastian is comical, with his eyes turned up to Sebastian’s face and his nose still mashed against his stomach.  
  
“I don’t know.” Sebastian shrugs and shakes his head.  
  
“How can you not know?” Jim demands, looking highly affronted. “You should have been able to find out ages ago!”  
  
“You weren’t here to find out with me.”  
  
The look melts off of Jim’s face and he wraps his arms around Sebastian’s body, pressing his face to the bump in apology. “I meant to be.”  
  
Sebastian reaches down and strokes his fingers through Jim’s hair, scratching his scalp like a pet. “I know you did.” He glances over at his coat, slung over the back of a chair. “The doctor wrote it down for me. I never looked though, just carried it around all the time.”

  
Jim immediately sits up and follows Sebastian’s line of vision. He slips off the bed and stumbles across the room, ignoring his protesting injured muscles. He slips his fingers into the pocked of Sebastian’s coat and pulls out the folded index card. “This is it?” At Sebastian’s nod, he brings the card back to the bed and sits down crossed legged on the blanket. He holds the card out. “Well, open it.”  
  
Taking the card, Sebastian stares at it before he shakes his head. “I can’t. You do it. I’ve been waiting for you, anyway.” Jim doesn’t offer up a second chance and snatches the card back, ripping the tape off and flipping it open.  
  
Jim looks at the card. Then at Sebastian. Back at the card. At Sebastian’s bump. Back at the card.  
  
Sebastian raises his eyebrows. “….well?”  
  
He’s looking at the bump. The card. Sebastian. The card.  
  
“Jim, tell me!”  
  
Jim lifts his chin slightly, his face determined. “Well I still maintain we are _not_ going calling her Peanut after she’s born.”


	11. Chapter 11

As much as he tries, Sebastian isn’t able to keep Jim in bed for more than a day, despite his injuries. He insists that he has plans to attend to, but he does cave when Sebastian suggests they try and pick out an actual name for Peanut.

It doesn't go well. From Sebastian’s list Jim vetoes,

Meredith. (“God, Sebastian, she sounds like a bitch already.”)

Edith. (“We are not giving birth to a sixty year old woman, Seb.”)

Rose. (“I hate Titanic. Unless you’re naming her after Doctor Who. In which case, still no.)

Delilah. (You want our daughter to hate us, don’t you?)

And from Jim’s list,

Quinn. (“No.”)

Rachel. (“No.”)

Santana. (“Look Jim, we are not naming our daughter after any character from Glee.”)

They don’t come to any sort of agreement, but collectively they veto nearly one hundred different names.

By the next day, Jim refuses to stay in bed any longer, claiming he has work to do.

“Very big plans, Sebastian. Huge things are getting ready to occur and I have to start them up. I have to lay down the pattern before I can tip the first domino and send it all crashing down!” Jim tells him.

Sebastian rolls his eyes. “I know it’s got to be important when you start speaking in metaphor. Go on then. But take it easy, you still look like…well, you look like hell.”

Jim fixes him with a highly affronted look. “I like to think the bruises make me look tougher.”

“You’re about five foot, eight inches and I don’t think you weigh more than 130 pounds soaking wet. Tough just isn’t happening for you, darling.”

“…”

“You’ve got intimidating down pretty well, if that helps.”

“It does a bit, yea.”

“Then let’s stick to our usual positions, you look intimidating and I’ll stand behind you cracking my knuckles and looking tough.”

“The belly takes away from the scary part. Tough just isn’t happening for you, darling.” Jim mocks, sticking his tongue out like a child.

Sebastian tosses a pillow at his head. “You’re going to be a shining example of maturity for Peanut. Now get out, I’m going back to sleep.”

He shifts back down in the bed and pulls the blanket up to his shoulder before cracking one eye open at Jim.

“Should I even ask what you’re working on before you go?”

“Nothing to worry about at all, Sebastian. I’m just planning a day out. Think I’ll go up to the Tower of London sometime next week.”


	12. Chapter 12

Jim flits in and out of their flat, keeping up a near constant dash between it and their headquarters. He is constantly scribbling out plans, half written math equations, timetables, and other charts that Sebastian can’t work out.

Sebastian catches him several times hiding in his office, speaking quietly, frantically into his phone is a small, nervous voice that spills out sentence after sentence into the mouthpiece. He can’t make out what Jim is saying but when he sticks his head into the office, Jim smiles at him like the Devil himself and he thinks it’s better not to press the issue.

Jim actually seems to take care to avoid neglecting Sebastian; each day he pops in at least once, whether it’s in their bedroom or in Sebastian’s office to stroke his hands across his lover’s stomach or to ask how he’s feeling.

Sebastian’s personal favorite of these various checkups is when Jim comes home late and slips into bed behind him, mouthing at the back of his neck with kisses and light nips, pressing slick fingers into Sebastian’s body and teasing him open before sliding in, arms tight around Sebastian’s torso, rocking their bodies together in a slow burn that leaves them both gasping for air.

Jim keeps up his antics for nearly two weeks straight; hardly stopping to sleep except for the nights when Sebastian pins him down in the bed and won’t let him up, knowing Jim won’t struggle too much for fear of hurting Peanut. He’s turned one wall of their flat into a massive chalkboard that is covered with numbers, timelines, names Sebastian doesn’t recognize (“Who is Richard Brook, Jim?” “Just an old friend making a new appearance.”), references to Grimm’s fairytales, and an explosion of other disjointed thoughts. One of the stranger things that Sebastian finds is a pile of apple in their kitchen that Jim has carved into, making various shapes and letters in them.

“What did these apples do to you?”

“I need them for dramatic effect. It will all make sense in the long run, Sebastian.”

“Somehow, I highly doubt that.”

Jim leans across the table and kisses Sebastian lightly. “You never doubt me.” Sebastian smirks against his lips.

“I doubt your sanity.”

“That’s something completely different. Now,” Jim pulls back and picks up his coat from the back of a chair, “it’s time for me to be off. Sight-seeing today and all that. I’ll be gone for a couple of days, but I’ve made arrangements to be picked up.”

Any other man would probably want to know why it’s going to take Jim a couple of days to visit the Tower of London but Sebastian picks up a ball cap with “LONDON” splashed across it and drops it on Jim’s head. “Don’t forget your stupid hat.”

Jim ducks down and presses a kiss to Sebastian’s stomach. “Your Papa is very jealous of my hat.” He says before winking and practically flouncing out of the room.

That night, when Sebastian watches the news while he makes himself dinner, he thinks that he should be more surprised to see that Jim has been arrested. Should be, but isn’t. He rolls his eyes and clicks off the television set, leaving it up to Jim’s so-called plan. He’d said he’d be back in a few days and Sebastian believes him.


	13. Chapter 13

  
Sebastian sends his favorite suit of Jim’s to the courthouse and leaves the television off. He doesn’t bother picking up the newspaper, not when they’ve all got Jim’s face splashed across the front of them. He doesn’t know what Jim is up to and he doesn’t really like it, so he pretends it isn’t happening.  
  
He doesn’t even know that Jim is out until he shows up in their flat, looking all too pleased with himself.  
  
“Quick trial.” Sebastian comments. “Took longer than a couple of days though.”  
  
“Had to be processed and all of that nonsense. But I rigged the jury from the start, kept things within the allotted time frame. All according to plan, dear.” Jim is practically preening from the job well done.   
  
“Crayhill called earlier when you were released.” Sebastian turns the kettle on and shuffles around the kitchen pulling out cups. “What have you been up to since then?”  
  
“Had to stop off for a bit of tea with Sherlock.” Jim replies easily and plucks the cup out of Sebastian’s hands. “You can’t have tea. No caffeine.”  
  
“I can have tea, Jim, just a limited amount. What were you doing with Sherlock?” Sebastian’s nose wrinkles slightly when he says the detective’s name. He isn’t and has never been a fan of Jim’s obsession with him. Even he can’t convince himself that it’s not purely out of jealousy.   
  
“And I know you, you’ve probably been drinking nothing but tea since I’ve been gone. I told you, I was having tea. And setting some things in motion. Dominoes and all that, yea?”  
  
“I have not. I’ve had plenty of water and juice and other crap.” He doesn’t bother trying to get his cup back and turns back to the cupboard to reach for another one. “Are you planning on telling me what this plan of yours is? Especially since it involves you getting mass amounts of publicity; I don’t think a crime lord is supposed to let everyone know what he looks like.”   
  
Jim presses against Sebastian’s back and kisses his neck as his hands reach up and shut the door before Sebastian can get his cup. “None of the details, yet. But that’s part of the beauty of it. No _actual_ crime lord would be stupid enough to be caught under such ridiculous circumstances and let himself become easily recognized, would they?”  
  
Sebastian leans back against Jim’s chest and stares moodily at the closed cupboard. “I wouldn’t know. Can’t say that I’ve really talked to many other master criminals.”   
  
“Killed a few for me though, haven’t you? And you wouldn’t have recognized any of them if I hadn’t given you pictures. “ He rests his chin on Sebastian’s shoulder, not a particularly easy feat, given their height difference. “I’ve got a variety of reasons for what I’m doing, Seb. The most important thing right now is that I bring Sherlock down.”   
  
Sebastian bites back the urge to snap there’s at least one thing that should be more important to Jim. He’s long accepted that, when it comes to their relationship, work always comes first for Jim and it will be likely be the same with Peanut.   
  
Jim nips him lightly. “Now, stop pouting about your tea. I’ve been gone for ages and while I was in jail I came up with some rather ingenious fantasies and I need your help acting them out.”   
  
Grumbling, Sebastian mutters. “I don’t want sex, I want tea.” And behind him, Jim lets out a huff of laughter.   
  
“Cranky today?”  
  
Sebastian twists his head to glare at Jim over his shoulder. “I am tired and you’ve been gone and I don’t have a fucking clue what’s going on and my body hurts and I hate these fucking hormones and I just want to get out of the house and kill something and god dammit I want a cup of damn tea.”   
  
“You’re cute when you’re angry.”  
  
He wrestles his way out of Jim’s grip and storms out of the kitchen. He locks himself in their bedroom again, locks newly installed and crawls into bed, muttering about how it’s Jim’s fault that he’s pregnant and his emotions are out of control and how much he’d like to get his hands on one of his pistols and just shoot Jim in the head.

  
There’s a small tap on the door some twenty minutes later. Sebastian pushes his face into the pillow and shouts back. “Go away!” He feels a bit like a sullen teenager, but he doesn’t really care.  
  
The locks click and _god dammit how did he do that_. Jim pokes his head in the door. “I made you a cup of tea.” Sebastian glares at him, not sure if he’s being sincere or an ass. He pushes the door open and makes his way across the room, holding out the cup to Sebastian.  
  
“It’s some kind of herbal crap. But it’s better for you.” Sebastian takes the cup with a suspicious look and watches Jim settle himself on the bed.   
“I’m not going to tell you what I’m doing, Sebastian. You’re going to have to trust that I know what I’m doing. You’ve always done that in the past, why is now different?”  
  
Sebastian looks pointedly down at his stomach.   
  
“….I can’t tell if you’re referring to the part where you’re having a baby or the part where your hormones have turned you into a woman.”   
  
“You’re lucky I don’t want to spill my tea, otherwise I would punch you in the mouth for that.”   
  
Jim grins at him and relaxes back against the pillow. “Everything is going according to the plan." He reaches over to rest one hand on Sebastian's bump. "Let me do the worrying and I’ll make sure everything falls the way it should.”


	14. Chapter 14

Jim starts leaving the flat less and less, only going out to make necessary runs to their headquarters. He coops himself up in his office and spends hours out of each day working out lines and lines of math equations and scribbling on various surfaces. Sebastian peeks at his notes from time to time and sees that at least half of them aren’t even written in English and he suspects that some of the symbols are things made up entirely inside of Jim’s twisted brain.  
  
Jim’s behavior starts growing more erratic and frenzied, working himself up into fits that end with smashed mirrors and cracked computer screens and on one occasion which lead to Sebastian finding Jim sitting on the floor of their room with his suits in large piles of mostly shredded cloth around him. He sits with his knees pulled up to his chest, head on his knees, fingers pushing through his hair and cursing under his breath and no one and nothing.  
  
He doesn’t respond to Sebastian’s voice, just continues to rock slightly, muttering about problems and solutions, debts and payment. Sebastian keeps his distance just in case Jim tries to lash out physically and retreats to the kitchen. He fixes Jim a cup of tea and slips a sedative into it. It isn’t the first time he’s drugged Jim by a long shot and the man hasn’t been sleeping much lately. A few hours might do him a world of good and give Sebastian time to take care of the mess in their room.  
  
When he offers Jim the cup, it takes him a few moments to respond and when he does, he takes the cup and swallows everything down in one gulp. It takes only a few moments before he’s up on his feet, swaying dangerously from side to side.  
  
“Hell…did you do?”  
  
Sebastian nudges him towards the bed, ignoring Jim’s demands for an explanation and batting away his hands. Jim stumbles over and lands on the mattress, grumbling unhappily as he wraps himself up in the duvet before succumbing to the drug.  
  
Sebastian cleans up the destroyed remains of Jim’s suits as best he can, what with bending over having become something of an ordeal. Peanut kicks impatiently at him and he pretends it’s her expressing displeasure with her daddy’s attitude. Sebastian has dinner delivered to their flat and stores it in the fridge for when Jim wakes up. His eating patterns are irregular at best, but with his recent behavior, Sebastian suspects it’s worse than ever and makes a plan to make Jim eat.  
  
He wants desperately to know what’s driving Jim even further past the brink of insanity than is normal for him, but he knows Jim will just brush him off and tell him, once again, that he’ll find out in due time.  
  
Hours later, he disentangles Jim from the blankets and rolls him over to one side of the bed. He slides in and pulls Jim’s pliant body against him, pressing his face against the back of the man’s neck. He hates the thoughts that go through his head and the way his chest thumps painfully at the thought of Jim being so far gone that Sebastian can’t find him.  
  
-  
  
It’s a sharp kick to one of his organs that wakes Sebastian up in the morning and his first thought is panic that Jim’s gone. As soon as his brain stumbles its way back into consciousness, he isn’t surprised to feel Jim’s hands stroking across his stomach, following the feel of Peanut’s kicking.  
  
Jim doesn’t react to Sebastian waking up or even really notice, his expression is a bit vacant as he tilts his head to one side, watching his fingers.  
  
Sebastian watches him silently, wishing he knew what went on in the man’s brain. Jim shows no signs of paying attention to Sebastian and he finally breaks the silence.  
  
“I’m trying to sleep, you know.”  
  
“And I was trying to stay conscious. We don’t always get what we want, now do we, dear?” Jim finally makes eye contact with Sebastian and it’s hard to tell from his expression if he’s teasing or genuinely pissed.  
  
Deciding that he should blindly ignore the accusation, Sebastian marches on. “What happened yesterday with your suits?”  
  
His reaction is surprisingly nonviolent and he drops his eyes back to Sebastian’s stomach again. “Had a bad day. Won’t be needing them soon anyway so,” he shrugs, “took it out on them.”

Questions pour out of Sebastian mouth before he can help himself. “Why won’t you need them, Jim? What’s going on? And how do you mean bad day? Just a rough day at work or bad like…downswing bad.” In the past, when Sebastian first came to work for Jim, he’d suffered from frequent ‘bad days’; the days on which Jim seemed barely able to cope with the actual world, locking himself away completely, some days completely breaking down. He’d only described it once to Sebastian, saying that one those days it was like the world moved even slower than normal and his brain too fast, making everything crackle in his ears like white noise, unable to properly focus on anything because it was too boring, too dull, too ordinary.  
  
The days came less and less often the longer Sebastian worked for Jim and had all but stopped since he’d first crawled into bed with Jim. He doesn’t know if there’s any actual connection between the two, but he likes to imagine that there is. It worries him that he might not be enough to keep the world at bay for Jim anymore.  
  
Jim shrugs. “Bit of both. Work is rough and the everything is just…” he makes a vague gesture with his hand and shakes his head.  
  
“And the suits?”  
  
“I won’t be needing them. I told you. Stop asking questions.” He can feel Jim shutting down on him already and responds in the best way that he can. He grabs he man’s wrist and pulls him forward, twisting their positions on the bed until he can press his mouth to Jim’s. Jim sighs against his lips,  
  
“You’re a sappy idiot.” But he can feel Jim’s lips twitch into a smile.  
  
-  
  
The next few weeks slide slowly by. Jim’s erratic behavior doesn’t stop but it doesn’t get any worse. He completely covers the walls of his office with documents stuck to the wall with pushpins, tape, and a piece of gum. Sebastian keeps an eye on him as best he can, stepping in to make sure that Jim sleeps or eats and providing distractions when it seems like Jim is starting to lose it.  
  
Sebastian stretches out on the sofa early one morning with a calendar in hand, marking off the days until he’s supposed to be due. Just under two weeks left. Jim sits incorrectly in an armchair, legs thrown over the back of the seat, flipping through a book of fairy tales without really reading them and occasionally checking his watch. “These fairy tales are terrible.” He finally declares, “I’m just going to have to make up stories to tell Peanut.”  
  
He gets a snort of amusement from Sebastian. “Tone down on the murder and violence in them though, will you?”  
  
“You’ve never read an actual fairy tale, have you?” He flips himself right ways up again and checks the time on his phone.  
  
“You have somewhere to be? You’ve been in and out at all hours the past few days. Should I be worried?” He’s only half joking when he asks.  
  
Jim tosses the book to the floor and opens his mouth to respond when his phone chimes. He glances at the screen briefly before rolling himself out of the chair and bolting out of the room.  
  
“What the- Jim, what the hell are you doing?” He calls. Jim doesn’t reply and Sebastian settles for glaring down the hall. His feet hurt too much to bother with getting up just yet. Jim bounds back in moments later, combing his hair back and dressed in one of the few suits that he didn’t ruin.  
  
“It’s show time, Sebastian! Everything that I’ve been working for! It’s all coming to a head and I’m going to _win_!” He tosses his head back and cackles with maniacal glee. He crosses the room quickly and drops onto the couch next to Sebastian, pulling the rather surprised man into a very enthusiastic kiss.  
  
“I’m _winning_ , Sebastian.” He pauses and wrinkles his face slightly. “Bit of a shame really, when the game is so entertaining, but sacrifices have to be made!”  
  
“Wait, what are- Jim, Pause. Who are you winning against?”  
  
“Sherlock Holmes, of course!”  
  
“…right, of course.”  
  
“Oh, don’t be like that.”  
  
Sebastian rolls his eyes and huffs. “Just…be careful. Don’t do anything stupid. Idiot.”

  
Jim kisses him again, hard and quick and it’s enough to leave Sebastian’s head spinning and his hands trying to pull Jim back down on the sofa. “I won’t do anything that I’ll regret tomorrow when I wake up.” He snags Sebastian’s sunglasses and practically dances out the door.  
  
Left alone in the flat again, Sebastian decides that there is no need for him to get up from the sofa. Jim has banned him from everything now, even office work, and he’s more relieved than angry about being told to stay home. He settles down with one of the many baby books he’s picked up over the months and prepares for a long day of doing nothing. He ignores the first slight twinge of pain, writing it off as Peanut kicking him in his organs again.  
  
The second and third are assumed to be indigestion and another kick.

  
By the fourth, he’s getting a bit concerned and dials up the number of the creepy doctor that he still, even after all of this, despises. Within half an hour, he’s in full-blown, undeniable pain and the doctor is sending a team over to bring him back to headquarters.  
  
With all of his usual finesse and tact, the doctor informs him bluntly that Peanut is ready to come out and they need to prep him for surgery. Sebastian resists, insisting that it’s too early despite the pain in his abdomen. His main concern however, is that he’s called no less than eight times and Jim isn’t answering his phone.

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

Sebastian’s first reaction upon coming back to consciousness after the surgery is panic. He doesn’t feel right, his whole body is off. His limbs aren’t responding properly and his thinking is sluggish and he feels _empty_.   
  
His hands make an immediate, if clumsy jerk towards his stomach, pressing against a significantly flatter surface than he’s used to.  
  
“Calm down, Mr. Moran. Your little girl is fine, she’s very healthy, if a bit small. Two weeks early will do that, but you’ll be able to see her in a few minutes.” The creepy dick of a doctor is at his bedside, making notes on a clipboard.   
  
Sebastian open his mouth to try and talk but his tongue feels like sandpaper. “That’ll be from the breathing tube.” He hands Sebastian a glass of water that he gulps down gratefully.  
  
“Jim. Where’s Jim? He wasn’t answering…” his throat is scratchy and his voice comes out low and rough.   
  
“Mr. Moriarty had something of an encounter with Sherlock Holmes today. There’s been a bit of an accident.” Sebastian feels like his heart isn’t beating. Jim hasn’t been behaving right lately, he must have made a mistake, must have missed something, and oh god, if Jim is hurt.  
  
“Mr. Moran, I can see the panic on your face already. He’s being treated for a small burn caused by sticking a miniature explosive to the back of his head. He’ll be in shortly, likely even before the baby gets back.”  
  
“An explosive…on his…”   
  
The doctor lets out a sigh that says he’s treated Jim for way too many stupid injuries. “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him for the details.”  
  
Jim takes that opportunity to stick his head in the door. He and the doctor stare at each other for a long minute before Jim says slowly and deliberately, “….get out.”, as if the man is an idiot who can’t understand him.   
  
He huffs and glances to Sebastian. “We’ll bring her in in just a few moments.” He turns and stalks out of the room, muttering under his breath about ungrateful psychopaths.   
  
Sebastian watches Jim and feels his whole body sag with relief now that he knows where the man is. “So. Explosives on your head?”  
  
Jim flaps his hand about vaguely and touches the bandaging around his head. “Should have gone with spring loaded, but I couldn’t get it to lay flat against my skull.”   
  
“Should I ask?”  
  
“Needed to launch blood and brain matter so that it looked like I shot myself in the head.”  
  
“Oh yea, why didn’t I guess that?”  
  
Jim starts to reply with a no doubt snarky remark but he is interrupted by the door being pushed open. One of the doctor’s nurses pushes in a small baby cot while another follows after her with a tightly wrapped little pink bundle. Jim wastes no time in relieving the nurse of the baby and gives the woman a death glare that sends her scampering from the room. The other nurse, a woman more experienced in dealing with Jim, sets up the cot quickly before making her exit. She paused for a moment in the doorway.  
  
“I just saw the report on the news, Mr. Moriarty. Congratulations.”  
  
He doesn’t acknowledge her and focuses on the baby in his arms instead, not even noticing when she leaves.   
  
“Hello there, little bit. It’s so nice to meet you.” He glances up to Sebastian.” She’s so tiny, Seb. Are babies always this tiny?”  
  
Sebastian shifts on the bed, wincing as his stitches pull. “She’s a bit bigger than a peanut now, bring her here, I want to see her.”   
  
She starts to fuss when Jim moves but he shushes her quietly, rocking her carefully. “Now, sweetheart. Don’t be like that, be good for papa and daddy, okay?” Sebastian feels like his insides melt a little bit.  
  
Jim reluctantly hands her over and Sebastian cradles her tight against his chest. His fingers trace gently over the lines of her face, absolutely smitten with her. “Hi Peanut…daddy’s right, you are a tiny little thing. You felt so much bigger before.”

  
Jim slips into the bed next to Sebastian, curling tight against his side so that he can watch her face. “She’s got your nose. And your eyes, for now. We’ll see if they stay that color.”  
  
“That is definitely your mouth.” Sebastian chuckles. “I hope she doesn’t have a sharp tongue like you do, or her teen years are going to be hell.”   
  
“You’re going to be a little firecracker aren’t you?”   
  
Sebastian shifts the little girl in his arms and glances over to Jim’s face, watching him admire their daughter. “The nurse, what was she talking about? On the news?”  
  
He doesn’t look over when he responds. “My encounter with Sherlock. It made the news. He won’t be a problem for us to deal with anymore.”  
  
“He’s dead then?”  
  
“Completely. Tossed himself off the roof of St. Bart’s. Left a very touching note for his little doctor, too.” Jim’s face adopts a mock sympathetic face.   
  
“Is that what you’ve been going nuts over this entire time? Killing Sherlock Holmes?”  
  
Jim shifts on the bed, pressing himself closer to Sebastian’s side and stroking the baby’s hair with one finger. “Part of it. I can’t set my empire to run on autopilot with Sherlock mucking about and screwing things up.”  
  
“Autopilot? Why do you- where are you going to be?”  
  
“Need to get away for a while. Drawing too much attention around here, be better off to lay low for a while and stay safe. Make it seem like my empire is crumbling.  
  
Sebastian’s whole body tensed. “And where are you planning to go?”  
  
“To Australia.”  
  
“….Australia. Right.”  
  
“I’ve got it all lined up and taken care of. Everything will be brand new, new house, new clothes, new guns, I’ve even got new fake names and backgrounds, all of the necessary documents of course, birth certificates, licenses, marriage certificate, an- “  
  
“Wait, what? Hold on, why in the hell do you need a fake marriage certificate?”  
  
Jim gently lifts the baby out of Sebastian’s arms and lifts her up so that he can kiss her forehead. “I thought it would look better for us to be married since we’ve got the little bit here with us.”  
  
….oh. Jim wanted him to…  
  
“Oi, hang on a tick. You can’t just arbitrarily decide that we’re married. You actually supposed to ask first, you know.”  
  
“Oh please, like you would actually say no. Everyone with eyes knows how you feel about me.  
  
“…and how do you feel about me?” Sebastian’s voice is low and nervous.  
  
“Married you, didn’t I?” It’s probably the closest Jim will ever come to a declaration of love but Sebastian thinks he’s pretty okay with that.  
  
“Penelope.”  
  
“…sorry?”  
  
“I think she looks like a Penelope. What do you think?” Jim angles her over to give Sebastian another look.  
  
He reaches out with one finger to touch one of the tiny fists waving in the air. “Penelope….my little Peanut.” He smiles. “I like it. Penelope… what’s our new last name?”  
  
“O’Connell. Penelope O’Connell.”

  
Sebastian twists his head slightly to press his face against Jim’s neck. “Heh. We made a baby.”  
  
“I know. It’s kind of freaking me out a bit, really. I don’t know how to be a dad. What experience do I have there? You can’t just have a baby murdered when it does something wrong. Well. I mean you _can_ but,- never mind. My dad didn’t know what he was doing. My dad was shit at being a parent.”  
  
“You also murdered your own father, so let’s try to avoid that, Jim.”  
  
“Avenge me if she murders me?”  
  
“Depends on why she did it. I may have a hand in helping her do it.”  
  
Jim laughs and presses a kiss to Sebastian’s hair. “Disloyal Sod.  
  
“We’ll figure it out, Jim. We just keep her safe and keep her happy. We’ll work out the rest. Somehow.”  
  
“…are you crying?”  
  
“ _No._ ” Sebastian pulls away from Jim and wipes at his face with one hand. “So how are you planning to do this? Isn’t the domesticity thing a bit….boring for you?”  
  
“Of course it is. Don’t look at me like that, you said it first. But I’ve worked around it; it’s one of the projects that I’ve been working on. I’m building an entirely new empire, Sebastian. Starting over, completely from scratch, in a new place where no one knows the name Moriarty. It’s been hellish and more than a little bit terrifying trying to get it all sorted. Of course, it’s going to be a much smaller scale than what we do now, but that’s the beauty of it. Less danger means Penny stays safer-“  
  
“Penny?”  
  
“Yes, shut up. And I get to keep myself occupied with recreating everything. New clients, new contacts, new web to spin across an entire continent. Once the fervor has died down and people really, I mean _really_ think that James Moriarty never existed, then I can come back and step into my old shoes.”  
  
“And once you’ve re-established here, you combine the two networks as the first step in becoming a global power.”  
  
“I knew I married you for more than just your pretty face.”  
  
“Such a sweet talker.” Sebastian takes Penelope back from Jim, not willing to let her be away from him for too long, not after getting used to carrying her around all day. “So, how long do you think we’ll be living down under?”  
  
“Well…” Jim leans over and strokes his finger over Penny’s cheek and beams when she yawns at him. “What do you think, little bit? We’ll come back to England, better than ever and ready to set up shop again in…three years?”


End file.
